Fire Cadets Challenge 2024

On Sunday 21^st July, teams of young people from across Wales gathered at Cardiff Gate Training and Development Centre for the annual Fire Cadets Challenge.

12 teams from South Wales and one team from Mid and West Wales competed in firefighting-related challenges to earn the accolade of Fire Cadets Challenge winners – and the competition was stiff from the off.

The Fire Cadets programme offers young people a unique insight into working within an emergency service. Treated as young trainee Firefighters, they are taught the basic skills required in the line of duty through participating in activities at their local fire stations at weekly drill nights with their respective units. These skills are then put to the test every year at the Cadets Challenge.

The challenges included:

• Home Fire Safety Check
• Equipment Assembly
• Trauma Challenge
• BA Crawl ways
• Team Activity
• Presentation
• Combination Drill

Whilst the criteria varied from task to task, teams were judged on their overall speed, communication skills, encouragement of their teammates, presentation, teamwork, and general technique.

The Equipment Assembly was completed in the quickest time by the Bridgend team, whilst the unit from Merthyr secured the highest marks for their simulation of a Home Fire Safety Check. Bridgend and Malpas were tied in the Trauma Challenge, and four units – Abergavenny, Barry, Roath and Tonypandy – were joint winners of the Presentation Challenge.

One stand out result from this year’s challenge, however, was the BA crawl ways activity. Four members of each team were required to crawl through a cage one after the other, in complete darkness, to emerge at the opposite end. This activity is designed to simulate navigating through a tight space with limited visibility, and relied on the Cadets using voices to guide one another, which would typically be something that a Firefighter would do in the line of duty.

This year, the crawl ways challenge was completed in the record-breaking time of 36 seconds by the team from Tredegar.

Watch Manager Tom Watson, of Mid and West Wales Fire and Rescue Service, commented:

“Our unit showed real determination at the Fire Cadets Challenge, and I was proud of the level of skills they demonstrated. Having never competed in a Challenge before, they showed great progress in what they’ve learnt so far. We teach them self-discipline and teamwork, amongst other things, and these attributes really stood out on the day.

“We’re going to continue training hard and we look forward to competing again next year.”

The day concluded with a presentation ceremony where each of the cadets was handed a medal for their participation, and the overall winners of the day – Malpas Fire Cadets – took home the trophy.

This year’s challenge was bittersweet, however, with South Wales having recently and suddenly lost their Youth Services Manager, Donna Crossman, in a tragic road traffic incident just weeks before. In tribute to Donna and the work she contributed across the sector, this year’s Fire Cadets Challenge award was named the Donna Crossman Award.

Amy Jenkins, Fire Cadet Manager at SWFRS, commented:

“I am incredibly proud of how each of our Cadets represented their Units at the FC Challenge, and it is a real privilege for me to lead the Fire Cadet function.

“All of the cadets worked really hard throughout the day and encouraged each other through the challenges to overcome them as a team.

“The challenges faced enhanced their core skills both practically and theoretically.

“It was a day of celebration and remembrance due to the very sudden loss of our Youth Manager Donna Crossman, so for me this day was a tribute to our Youth Leader who had a great influence on the FC programme and wider youth remits, not just in SWFRS, but on a national level.

“To award the Donna Crossman memorial award to our winning team Malpas brought so much joy, pride and pleasure!”

The National Cadet Games will be hosted by South Wales Fire and Rescue Service in 2025 at Cardiff Met University. Keep an eye on our website to find out more!

The full list of winners of each of the challenges is below: